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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of
Planning and Urban Design |
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PREPARED BY: |
Lilli
Duoba, Senior Project Coordinator, Environmental Planning & Rouge Park |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
2003-Jun-17 |
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SUBJECT: |
Draft
Rouge North Official Plan Amendment |
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RECOMMENDATION
THAT the staff report entitled “Draft Rouge
North Official Plan Amendment”, dated June 17,
2003, be received;
AND THAT
the record of the Public Meeting held on February 18, 2003 with respect to the
proposed amendment to the Official Plan be received;
AND THAT the Official Plan Amendment for Rouge North attached as Appendix ‘A’ be adopted;
AND THAT
the Region of York be forwarded the Official Plan Amendment for approval;
AND THAT the Region of York be requested to defer the policy implementing the 600 metre Little Rouge Corridor pending preparation of a Little Rouge Creek Corridor Implementation Strategy by the Rouge Park Alliance, Province of Ontario and other agencies;
AND THAT the Town of Markham endorse the ‘Rouge North Implementation Manual’ attached as Appendix ‘C’, such endorsement to take effect upon final approval of the Rouge North Official Plan Amendment;
AND THAT the Town of Markham support and encourage the Toronto Region Conservation Authority to commence and fast-track the preparation of a Rouge Watershed Strategy;
AND THAT the Rouge Park Alliance be requested to produce an updated version of the Rouge North Management Plan reflecting the regulated Oak Ridges Moraine boundary and revised boundary delineation criteria;
AND FURTHER THAT the Province of Ontario, Region of York, Region of Durham, Rouge Park Alliance, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Town of Richmond Hill, Town of Whitchchurch-Stouffville, Town of Pickering and City of Toronto be provided with a copy of the report and notice of adoption of the Official Plan Amendment.
1.0 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
On May 28, 2002, Council endorsed the Rouge Park Official Plan Amendment framework and directed staff to proceed with the preparation of a draft Official Plan Amendment to implement the Rouge North Management Plan. Council also authorized public information meetings and the statutory public meeting, which have been held. The purpose of this report is to present to Council the revised draft Rouge North Official Plan Amendment for adoption and the Rouge North Implementation Manual for endorsement. The Amendment is attached to this report as Appendix ‘A’. The Manual is attached as Appendix ‘C’ (available under separate cover at the Town of Markham Clerks Department).
2.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Town of Markham has been an active participant on the Rouge Park Alliance (RPA) since it was first established in 1996. One of the main activities of the Rouge Park Alliance has been the preparation of the Rouge North Management Plan. Markham provided project management services for the study during the preparation of the background study and preliminary and draft Rouge North Management Plan documents. The draft Rouge North Official Plan Amendment implements the components of the Rouge North Management Plan that deal with municipal planning responsibility.
The draft Official Plan Amendment, once implemented, would alter the way valley and stream corridors within the Rouge Watershed are delineated for environmental protection and the amount of land to be secured for public conveyance in the Town of Markham. The Rouge North Official Plan Amendment proposes the use of ecological criteria as a means of establishing a protected environmental corridor intended to be conveyed into public ownership. The amount of lands forming the Rouge North boundary would differ within each river and stream reach depending on the existing conditions and application of the ecological criteria. The draft Official Plan policies also provide for a 600 metre public corridor along the main branch of Little Rouge Creek.
The Rouge North Official Plan Amendment represents a significant departure from the traditional boundary delineation process, but is intended to specifically address the lands needed to protect the fragile resource along the tributaries of the Rouge River. The policy initiative is an innovative and bold approach for Markham, but one which has a strong basis in science and reflects emerging priorities for greater environmental protection.
3.0 BACKGROUND
Council directed
staff to prepare Rouge Park Amendment
On July 10, 2001, Council endorsed in principle the Rouge North
Management Plan and directed that staff continue to work with the Rouge Park
Alliance (RPA) to address outstanding matters and to report back on the
implementation of the Rouge Park through the Town’s Official Plan. In response to the municipal concerns
raised, the RPA set up a number of sub-committees to address specific
implementation matters. Following the
work of the subcommittees, on May 28, 2002, Council received a Development
Services Committee report outlining a framework for the preparation of an
amendment to implement the Rouge Park in Markham. Council directed staff to finalize a draft amendment and proceed to
both a public information meeting and a statutory public meeting.
Rouge North Official Plan Amendment will provide greater protection to
tributaries
Protection of the Rouge River evokes a strong public response. Public interest groups have provided over a decade of debate and opinion on the issue of greater environmental protection for the fragile and impacted resource of the Rouge River and its tributaries. Senior levels of governments have responded to environmental policy opinion in a number of positive ways including the creation and financial support of the Rouge Park Alliance, the dedication of land for Rouge Park purposes and the enactment of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act. The Province plays an increasingly significant role in providing leadership, policy, legislation and funding for protection of natural heritage resources, particularly since the tools provided to local municipalities through the Planning Act and Development Charges Act are insufficient to address emerging needs for higher standards in environmental protection. Notwithstanding these constraints, Markham continues to provide strong leadership in environmental protection, particularly in the success of our policy regarding dedication of valleylands including the 10-metre environmental buffer, innovations in stormwater management facilities and funding for environmental land acquisition.
The draft Rouge North Official Plan Amendment is intended to provide policies for the delineation of the stream and valley corridors within the Rouge watershed, which covers the majority of the rural area. This process will differ from the current valley plus 10 metres of tableland requirement that applies in the urban area. The process proposed to delineate the valley corridors in the rural area, as a condition of any future urban expansion, would generally net a wider corridor than the policies now provide in the existing urban area. The Oak Ridges Moraine area will be subject to a site-specific amendment in accordance with the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001, which includes specific policies for the protection of natural and hydrological features on the Moraine. The remaining rural lands require an additional Official Plan Amendment process to incorporate appropriate environmental policies for the rural area to integrate with the Town’s current environmental policy framework. It is expected that this work will commence in 2004, pending completion of the Oak Ridges Moraine amendments, Rouge North Official Plan Amendment and the Town’s Small Streams Study.
The draft Rouge North Official Plan policies are leading edge municipal policy and will require staff and financial resources to implement, over time.
Rouge Park Alliance to oversee and maintain the Rouge North Management Plan
The Rouge North
Management Plan (RNMP) was prepared by the Rouge Park Alliance (RPA) and
included the participation of the Rouge North Partners (TRCA, Markham, Richmond
Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville and Region of York). The RPA is a voluntary organization comprised of government and
non-profit organizations, which have a direct interest in the Rouge River
watershed. The role of the RPA is to
provide direction and leadership in the implementation and management of the
Rouge Park. The RPA is not
incorporated, does not report to another body or government and it is not a
product of any Municipal, Provincial or Federal legislation. Implementation of
the Rouge North Management Plan is solely at the discretion of local
municipalities or other Partners.
The RNMP was developed through a consultative process involving numerous
meetings and public events. Through this process, municipal input was received
and Council provided recommendations to the RPA on four occasions (see Appendix
‘B’). Although, the Rouge Park Alliance
has not always responded to or agreed with the position of the Town as
expressed in the resolutions of Council, the Rouge Park Alliance has supported
the Town in the preparation of the Rouge North Official Plan Amendment and has offered significant
assistance in addressing the technical issues arising from the RNMP.
Although the
RNMP is not a binding document, the Town has endorsed it and should the Town
adopt an Official Plan Amendment for Rouge North as recommended in this report,
the Town’s Rouge Park policies will be linked to the Rouge North Management
Plan, as the basis and justification document.
As such, Council must ensure that the Rouge North Management Plan
continues to be relevant and applicable to the Markham context. The long-term evolution of Rouge North and
changing circumstances will necessitate periodic updates to the Rouge North
Management Plan. The RNMP, although
endorsed in 2001, currently reflects boundary delineation criteria which have
been modified through a recent consultation process. In addition, the boundary of the Oak Ridges Moraine has been
modified to reflect the boundary mandated through Ontario Regulation
01/02. In order to ensure optimum
clarity in the implementation process, we recommend that Council request that
the Rouge Park Alliance update the Rouge North Management Plan to reflect the
current boundary delineation criteria, as revised and identified on Appendix
‘C’ and the Oak Ridges Moraine boundary.
The draft Rouge
North Official Plan Amendment provides policies requiring any changes proposed
by the Rouge Park Alliance to the Rouge North Management Plan be first
supported and endorsed by Council.
Implementation Activities are Underway by some Rouge Park Partners
The Rouge North
Management Plan was approved in principle in 2000 and again in 2001 by the
Rouge Park Alliance and sent to the Rouge Park partners for endorsation. Appendix ‘D’ summarizes the Partner
responses and their current actions with respect to implementation of the Rouge
North Management Plan (2001). The most
relevant implementation partners for the success of the Rouge North Management
Plan include the Province of Ontario, the Region of York, Toronto and Region
Conservation Authority and the municipalities of Richmond Hill and
Whitchurch-Stouffville. The Region of
York has endorsed the RNMP and is moving forward with an amendment to their
Official Plan to implement a policy reflecting the Rouge Park. That Amendment is in draft form. The TRCA have endorsed the Rouge North
Management Plan and are working closely with the Town in defining their role
and responsibilities with respect to the implementation process. The Towns of
Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville have not fully endorsed the Rouge
North Management Plan and are not yet proceeding with Official Plan policy or
with implementation in the recommended manner.
In order to
optimize the potential success of the implementation of the Rouge North
Management Plan and the ambitious obligations placed on the Town of Markham to
deliver a new standard of environmental protection, the Rouge Park Alliance
should be encouraged to review implementation efforts with the Rouge Park
Partners to ensure all reasonable and feasible implementation activities are
planned or underway in a consistent manner.
Rouge North Implementation Manual to be endorsed by Council
The Rouge North Implementation Manual, attached as Appendix ‘C’, provides the rationale, definitions and methodology for applying the ecological criteria for the Rouge North boundary delineation process. This Manual has been prepared under the direction of the Rouge Park Alliance Technical Review Committee (led by Markham) and has included extensive consultation with stakeholders, including a representative from the Urban Development Institute. The Manual has been prepared to reflect a multi-jurisdictional approach that could be adapted for use by Richmond Hill and Whitchurch Stouffville over time, and has been adapted to Markham’s process requirements. Staff are satisfied that concerns of the stakeholders (including the development community) have been addressed, to the extent possible. We recommend that this document be endorsed by Council, concurrent with the draft Rouge North Official Plan Amendment. This endorsement should coincide with approval of the OPA by the Region of York. Policies have been included in the draft Official Plan Amendment requiring public consultation before any modifications to the document are considered by Council.
Extensive Public Consultations Undertaken
The
Rouge Park stakeholders comprise landowners, public interest groups,
environmental interest groups and the development community. The Rouge Park Alliance and the Toronto and
Region Conservation Authority also have a significant interest in the draft
Amendment and have participated at length with the municipality in developing
the Rouge North policies.
It has been estimated that over 160 public consultation meetings have
been held in the development of the Rouge North Management Plan, since
1996. Since release of the draft Rouge
Park Official Plan Amendment on January 6, 2003, Town staff together with the
technical and planning consultants for the draft Official Plan Amendment and
supporting documents, have engaged and responded to two stakeholder meetings,
three Rouge Park Alliance meetings, three technical meetings with UDI
consultants, two presentations to Development Services Committee and the
Statutory Public meeting on February 18, 2003.
All submissions received are included in
Appendix ‘E’ (available under separate cover at the Town of Markham Clerks
Department), including a summary of staff responses to the comments. Staff have reviewed all submissions and
modified the draft Amendment where appropriate and feasible. The draft Amendment, attached as Appendix
‘A’ includes modifications made to the document in response to comments
received. It represents a solid
defensible approach that is consistent with the Town’s high standard of
environmental protection and existing Official Plan policy framework. Many of the comments received have been
reflected in the current draft Official Plan Amendment.
4.0 SUMMARY OF THE DRAFT ROUGE PARK OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT
The draft Rouge
North Official Plan Amendment is attached as Appendix ‘A’. The Amendment is summarized below. Approval authority for the Official Plan
Amendment rests with the Region of York.
Purpose of the OPA
The purpose of the draft
Official Plan Amendment is threefold.
First, the amendment incorporates ecologically based criteria as a means
of delineating future Rouge North on non-urban lands. Second, the amendment defines a process to recognize publicly
owned lands identified for Rouge Park by the public landowner, as Rouge Park. Finally, the amendment incorporates policy
direction for the long-term management of the Rouge North lands.
The Rouge Park Alliance have requested that municipalities apply the ecological criteria, to the extent possible, in the existing urban area. Staff have included a policy in the draft Official Plan Amendment directing staff to review opportunities and negotiate with landowners to protect and/or convey into public ownership additional lands adjacent the Rouge River tributaries. This policy obligates municipal staff to seek out opportunities to work with landowners to identify and protect and/or convey additional lands for Rouge Park over and above the current approved policy within the urban boundary. The policy does not require the time and expense of preparing a detailed technical review to establish the ecological criteria, but rather a staff level review to examine site specific opportunities, important linkages and protection of vegetation not encompassed in the 10 metre established buffer. The process reinforces a partnership-based approach with developers and landowners in achieving enhanced ecological protection.
The Middle Reaches Policy Area includes all lands within the Rouge watershed outside the Little Rouge Creek sub-watershed, urban policy area and Oak Ridges Moraine. The policies outline the long-term strategy for defining valley and stream corridors in public ownership using ecological criteria as defined in the draft Official Plan Amendment. The process of using the ecological criteria involves a staged process of first identifying a study area boundary and then applying the 10 ecological criteria to the lands using a mapping process. Once all the criteria have been applied, the map line furthest from the watercourse would be the new Rouge North boundary. The ecological (boundary delineation) criteria are listed in the draft Official Plan Amendment and detailed in the Rouge North Implementation Manual that is proposed to be endorsed by Council as a companion document. The valley corridor defined through the boundary delineation criteria will in most cases net a wider valley corridor than the Town’s current valley plus 10 metres policies provide. The policies also identify a number of supporting activities including monitoring the Town’s planning policies to supporting an Alliance process to update the Rouge North Management Plan in the future and to support the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority with a watershed strategy.
The Little Rouge Creek Policy Area includes all lands within the Little Rouge Subwatersed, outside the Oak Ridges Moraine boundary and the urban policy area. The purpose of this policy area is to secure a corridor wide enough to support interior forest conditions and terrestrial/wildlife habitat function. The technical review undertaken as part of the Rouge North Management Plan identified a corridor of approximately 400 metres of interior forest conditions and 200 metres of compatible uses. The intent of the Little Rouge Creek policies is to secure a continuous 600-metre corridor along the main branch of the Little Rouge Creek. Lands south of Major Mackenzie Drive are mostly held in public ownership for Rouge Park purposes where a 600-metre corridor is achieved for the most part. It is recognized that, north of Major Mackenzie Drive, a 600-metre corridor in public ownership cannot be secured without a multi-faceted strategy which would include the participation of other Rouge Park Alliance partners and a variety of securement tools.
The Rouge Park
Official Plan Amendment also includes polices as follows:
·
identifying
the Oak Ridges Moraine boundary and deferring the site specific policies to the
mandated Official Plan and Zoning conformity requirements set out in the Oak
Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001;
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supporting
the Federal Rouge Park corridor; and,
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policies
supporting and recognizing the unique attributes of Special Management Sites
(Little Rouge Creek, Markham Centre, Milne Park Conservation Area, Beaver
Creek, Historic Unionville).
Land Securement Strategy Policies
The draft Official Plan Amendment includes policies that encourage and address land securement options and tools.
Other
Implementing Documents
The complexity of the Rouge North Official Plan Amendment incorporating the new process for delineating valley corridor requires companion implementation tools to provide greater clarity regarding the process. The Rouge North Implementation Manual, attached hereto as Appendix ‘C’ provides the rationale, definitions and methodology for applying the ecological criteria. The draft Official Plan Amendment also identifies the preparation of Urban Design and Infrastructure Guidelines to be adopted by Council consistent with the Urban Design and Infrastructure Guidelines in the Rouge North Management Plan. These will be brought forward to Council at a future date. The draft Official Plan Amendment also identifies the preparation of a Rouge Park Lands map identifying Town of Markham Rouge Park lands in public ownership to be identified and considered for Rouge Park purposes. This map will also be forwarded to Council at a future date.
5.0 DEFERRAL OF LITTLE ROUGE CORRIDOR 600 METRE POLICY
Current Provincial planning legislation, under which the Town must operate, does not provide the tools necessary to acquire a 600-metre corridor in public ownership, outside of the parkland dedication requirement generally intended for active playfields and sports facilities. Council responded to the Rouge Park Alliance on October 28, 1997 and again on August 29, 2000 requesting that the Rouge Park Alliance coordinate a land acquisition and funding program to secure the Rouge Park lands in public ownership. In April 2002, the Rouge Park Alliance prepared a general Land Securement and Funding Report, which outlined the various tools available for land securement. The report did not detail a specific program or strategy for the Little Rouge Corridor. To date, a specific program for land acquisitions along the Little Rouge Corridor has not been prepared.
Staff support the ambitious 600 metre corridor goal of the Rouge North Management Plan, and recommend incorporating it into the Town’s Official Plan Amendment, but in the absence of a long-term acquisition strategy to secure the lands in public ownership, it will not be achieved. The substantial program needed to secure the privately held Little Rouge Corridor lands require the relationship and financial resources of the senior levels of government and the RPA. Instead of weakening the 600 metre corridor policy, staff recommend that the Region of York be requested to defer the policy in the Town’s OPA until the Town, Rouge Park Alliance and senior levels of government can prepare realistic and achievable funding and legislation opportunities to implement the 600 metre Little Rouge Corridor over the long-term. Should it be determined that this goal is not achievable, staff will prepare alternative policy options for as wide a corridor as practical, while protecting the Town from the financial impact of a mandatory purchase.
6.0 RESPONSE
TO MAJOR COMMENTS
Appendix ‘E’ includes all submissions received to date and a summary of
staff responses to those submissions.
Further discussion is provided below with respect to the major issues
and reoccurring themes identified through the review process of the draft Rouge
North Official Plan Amendment.
Compliance
to the Rouge North Management Plan
The Rouge Park Alliance and Save the Rouge Valley System (SRVS) have
requested that Council consider including a policy in the Official Plan
Amendment identifying that land use changes and planning and infrastructure
decisions shall only be permitted if they conform to the Rouge North Management
Plan and Rouge North Implementation Manual.
Town staff and the project consultants had identified the legal
difficulty with the implementation of such policy from a Planning Act
perspective and have advised the Rouge Park Alliance that staff would not be
recommending the policy to Council. The
Rouge Park Alliance have requested an outside legal opinion be sought. Staff response to the suggested policy is
also addressed in Appendix ‘E’ sections, (iii) 1 and (v) 15.
No revisions to the draft OPA are recommended with respect to the Rouge
Park Alliance and SRVS request.
Application
of the Ecological Criteria within the Urban Area
The application
of the ecological criteria to the existing urban area continues to be an issue
for the Rouge Park Alliance (RPA), Save the Rouge Valley System (SRVS) and
Friends of the Rouge Watershed (FWR).
Staff have agreed to and are recommending an enhancement policy within
the existing urban area. The RPA, SRVS
and FRW do not agree with the approach being recommended by staff.
The RNMP contains a statement that identifies the Rouge Park Alliance as requesting that municipalities apply the ecological criteria in the urban area where development applications have not been approved or where existing approvals are reopened. This statement was incorporated into the Rouge North Management Plan by resolution of the Rouge Park Alliance in 1998, notwithstanding that it was not recommended in the Preliminary Rouge North Management Plan released in 1997. The position of the Town, at that time (as throughout the RNMP process), and shared by the TRCA and north municipalities, was that a new standard for environmental protection along valleylands in the future growth areas was appropriate, but that to retroactively require landowners to undertake the time consuming and costly boundary delineation process was not supportable where planning decisions on the lands have already been made by Council. Those planning decisions and approvals were negotiated in good faith and under the guidance of applicable Official Plan policy and legislation. They should be allowed to stand and landowners should be able to rely on approvals achieved under the applicable policies, specific to their planning application. Even where landowners require additional or new approvals within the urban area, previous decisions with respect to road location, parcel size, land ownership patterns, and adjacent land uses and environmental corridor widths could impact the ability of the Town to negotiate additional buffers. Within the urban area, most communities have approved Secondary Plans, Community Design Plans, draft approvals and zoning, and development is established or well underway making significant changes to the Rouge Park boundary difficult in most circumstances.
It is unlikely that landowners and developers in the urban boundary would willingly retain technical consultants, at their expense, to delineate a wider valley corridor for public conveyance, where substantial investment has already occurred based on existing polices. If the landowners are not willing to undertake the ecological exercise, staff have no basis by which to begin Rouge Park boundary negotiations. The only other option is for the Town or Rouge Park Alliance to pay for the boundary delineation study, but this would be subject to consent for property access and at considerable expense with no guarantee of success.
Notwithstanding this, we have reflected the intent of the RNMP policy to enhance the width of the valley corridor to the extent possible within the urban area. We have included a policy directing staff to review all opportunities to enhance Rouge Park setbacks in the urban area where new applications are submitted, with a view to increasing the tableland setbacks wherever possible. This process is intended to be responsive and to deliver results securing additional lands where it makes sense from a land use perspective and can be negotiated with landowners. Landowners, in the past, have been willing to consider additional buffers where the environmental merit is obvious and where the additional conveyance does not adversely impact their planning proposal. The process proposed by staff is efficient and cost-effective and would likely result in overall greater successes than the adversarial and costly process or trying to apply the ecological criteria based on further technical studies after approvals are already in place.
The enhancement policy [section 2.16.7f)] reflects the spirit and
intent of the Rouge North Management Plan and the legislation which governs
municipal planning processes and decisions.
No significant wording changes are being recommended. Further, to the extent that approvals have already been given based on
existing policy, application of new criteria in limited, site specific
circumstances may result in inconsistent boundaries and achieve significance no
environmental benefit. Policy direction to determine environmental
boundaries should be done at a larger scale to ensure the establishment of a
continuous and effective environmental setback along the tributaries of the
Rouge River. There may be circumstances
where additional lands may be effectively added to the Rouge Park, and staff's
recommendation to negotiate such additional lands is the most effective way to
achieve additional benefit where it is available.
Prohibit Urban Expansion pending Watershed Strategy
for the Rouge River
SRVS, Friends of the Rouge Watershed, TRCA and the Rouge Park Alliance
have requested that the Town prohibit any further urban expansion, until a
watershed strategy is prepared for the Rouge River. The Rouge Park Alliance have encouraged and supported the TRCA in
the preparation of a watershed strategy for several years. Staff support the preparation of a watershed
strategy for the Rouge River and have prepared a policy to reflect that
support. Watershed strategies have been
prepared for the Don and Duffins watersheds.
Staff recommend that the Town encourage the TRCA to move forward with
the Rouge Watershed Strategy in a timely manner. The TRCA have advised that a Rouge Watershed Strategy will
commence in 2003 and as such, it is likely that a Rouge Watershed Strategy
could be completed well before the Town needs to review its Official Plan
relative to any further comprehensive urban expansion.
The watershed policy [section 2.16.6n)] identifies the Town’s interest in
the Watershed Strategy and encourages the completion of the Strategy in a
timely manner. The policy is consistent
with the Rouge North Management Plan.
7.0 FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The draft Rouge North Official Plan Amendment is a complex
environmental policy regime which will require additional financial and staff
resources to implement. Staff time will
be required to negotiate enhanced buffers in the urban area and to work with
landowners to implement the boundary delineation criteria for any future urban
area, including the preparation of Terms of Reference, assistance with
interpretation of the Implementation Manual, review and/or peer review of the
boundary delineation criteria. Application of the boundary delineation criteria requires
technical consulting services to coordinate the research with affected agencies
(TRCA/MNR/Town), undertake field assessments and application of the criteria
through a mapping overlay exercise.
Where this process is undertaken in support of urban development it is
expected that, regardless of who undertakes the study, the proponents of
development would pay for the study. It
should be noted that if the Town initiates a Secondary Plan process or requests
that the ecological criteria be applied to certain lands, the Town would seek
to secure the necessary, funding from the landowners for consulting services to
delineate the criteria.
The Town has an Environmental Land Acquisition Fund and the fund may be used to secure Rouge Park lands, subject to meeting the land securement criteria and Council approval. The fund is currently approximately $3,000,000 and is intended for Town wide use. The current funds available are not sufficient to address the land acquisition needs for Rouge Park lands, not secured through the development approvals process.
Financial contribution from senior levels of government and other
RPA partners will be required to implement the RNMP, in particular the
recommended 600 metre corridor on private lands along the Little Rouge
Corridor.
This report has been reviewed by
the Finance Department and Legal Services Department.
9.0 CONCLUSION
The Rouge North Official Plan Amendment provides a new process for delineating environmental lands adjacent to the Rouge River and its tributaries. Once secured in public ownership, the lands will form part of the Rouge Park and become a linked and connected system from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario. The environmental policies are unique to the Rouge in that the criteria were developed specifically to reflect the vision, goal and objectives of the Rouge North Management Plan. The policies are ecologically based which means that each reach of the Rouge River and its tributaries will be delineated based on the ecological and cultural heritage attributes of the area. The approach, although more complex than the current policy process is a sound ecological approach based on protection of the natural resource. The policy initiative is an innovative and bold approach for Markham, but one which has a strong basis in science and reflects emerging priorities for greater environmental protection.
ATTACHMENTS
Appendix ‘A’ - Draft
Rouge North Official Plan Amendment
Appendix
‘B’ - Previous
Rouge North Management Plan Council Resolutions
Appendix ‘C’ - Rouge North Implementation Manual
Appendix ‘D’ - Rouge Park Partner Implementation Activities
Appendix ‘E’ - Comments
and Responses
File Path: Q:\Development\Planning\MISC\MI462
RNMP OPA\Reports\report
toDSC June 17, 2003.doc
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Director of Planning and Urban Design |
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services |
